Tuesday, April 28, 2015

#ShareTheHorror

My
first novel, The Haunted Halls, came out in July of last year, 2014. I knew
the publishing world had changed from the days of the publisher taking care of
business for the author. I knew I had to promote my novel myself, and mostly by
myself. I had played in punk bands for years (none that were “commercially”
successful), and I believed in our talent. I believed in my talent. I could
gladly tell you about my band, but I had very little experience in pushing
books, and even less confidence in my own ability as a writer. Being new to the
writing game, I had to learn fast. And I did.

In
October of 2014, The Haunted Halls was followed by my self-published
short story collection, Slush. I actually sent out some ARCs (Advanced Reader
Copies)! Hey, I was learning. In January,
alongside Samhain favorites, Jonathan Janz, Russell James, and
Hunter Shea, Samhain Publishing released my novella, Abram’s
Bridge.
This month, they unleashed my horror/sci-fi/aliens among us second
novella, Boom Town.

In
the horror writing world, self-promotion is a talent. There is a delicate
balance between getting your work out there and spamming your Facebook friends
with your ugly mug and the fiction you have to peddle. Think of it like opening
your mailbox: Is your “promotion” like a surprise letter of awesome news that’s
going to make them smile or want more? Or, as a lot of self-promoting comes
across, does your daily “promo” go the way of those dreaded circulars piling up
in their trash? At least with using the internet there’s no paper involved.
#SaveTheTrees

I
have been pushing Glenn Rolfe novels and novellas for the last ten months.
That’s a lot of “me” posts. I don’t want to become an endless stream of
e-Circulars.

In
the fall of last year, about the time I released Slush, the Horror Writers
Association started the “Horror Selfies” campaign:

In
2014, the Horror Writers Association (HWA) created the Horror Selfies campaign in an
effort to highlight the exceptional work, both literary and cinematic, produced
by the horror genre. Inspired by the popular “Say it with a Sign” meme—used by
everyone from Ellen DeGeneres and Jon Bon Jovi, to David Beckham and Princes
William and Harry—the HWA is utilizing the vast reach of social media to
provide a platform through which people can tell the world why they love
horror.

This
was a wonderful idea that was conjured by the HWA president, the late Rocky
Wood (along with Tom Calen and AJ Klein). If ever there was a person
to fall in with, and to compel one to participate in the cause, it was Rocky
Wood. What Rocky understood, above all else, is that we (the horror lovers of
the world) are a community. And successful communities take care of one
another. They praise one another. They know that one member’s success is a
success for all of us.

In
December, I decided to take this concept and apply it to my daily posts. In
order for me to feel comfortable in promoting my own works, I would double up
on promoting works by others. I began posting my favorite reads of the years
complete with direct links to those works. It was in that first month of being
a cheerleader for my favorite horror writers that I coined my own campaign, my
own hashtag: #ShareTheHorror

It
feels amazing to heap praise upon your favorites and spotlight authors you
admire. A lot of members in the horror community are really good at this.
Others, not so much. I invite you to #ShareTheHorror today. If you feel
good, give it a try for a week. I think you’ll enjoy it enough that you’ll be
on the #ShareTheHorror campaign trail for life.

I
will tell you to go out and find my best work to date, Boom Town, but while I have your
attention, let me also point out five other new pieces of dark fiction worthy
of your consideration: